Why Michael Hutchence was Robert Smith’s “most hated person of the moment”
For many, the allure of being a musician is more than just writing, recording and performing songs. The fame, fortune, attention and legacy that is on offer – if you manage to succeed – often attracts a lot of egotistical individuals, making the music industry a difficult landscape to navigate. For Robert Smith of The Cure, music is a number-one priority, and he’s not afraid to reach into the depths of his own struggle for the sake of art.
Smith has always honed a rather introspective persona, in keeping with his occupation as one of the leading figures in the goth rock genre. While he has been open about his previous drug addiction, Smith isn’t exactly the first person that comes to mind when you think of the whole ‘sex, drugs and rock and roll’ stereotype; The Cure weren’t the kind of band to be surrounded by groupies.
Of course, what happened behind tour bus doors is only known to the band members, but it’s clear that they weren’t the sort to adhere to rockstar stereotypes. Thus, it seems as though Smith doesn’t have much time for people who aren’t truly authentic or dedicated to their craft, easily seeing through other artists’ pretensions. For these reasons, he once expressed his dislike for Michael Hutchence from INXS back in 1993, seeing him as the kind of artist to take advantage of their rockstar status to appear gracious and holier than thou.
Talking to Spin Magazine, he called Hutchence “my most hated person of the moment.” He began by explaining how he was glad that The Cure had moved past the early days of playing in small DIY venues, hardly getting paid for their work and having to spend time in run-down dressing rooms. “It’s dingy, and it’s smelly, and it’s nice that we don’t have to play these places,” he revealed.
While he appreciated the leg-up these venues gave the band, he didn’t feel the need to go back to performing in such a way. “Then I see INXS doing it,” he explains. Smith was annoyed with how the “pandering interviewer” asked Hutchence. “‘Oh, did you start out playing small places?’” leading Smith to add, “Well, everyone started out playing fucking clubs! You don’t start out playing stadiums.” He continued, “And he spouts all these contrived reasons for doing it.”
Evidently, Smith could sniff out a sense of artificiality in Hutchence’s claims, which angered him. He also had an issue with INXS’ flimsy attempt at advocating against patriarchal beauty standards. “And then they did that song with all the models in it, and he said it was saying that women don’t have to conform to this notion of beauty, while all he fucking does is go out with models!”
Hutchence isn’t the only person that Smith has been vocal about over the years. The singer has famously expressed a strong dislike for Morrissey from The Smiths, and in the same interview, he explained, “I have never liked Morrissey, and I still don’t.” It seems like, just for a short period, Hutchence replaced the ‘This Charming Man’ singer for the number one spot in Smith’s ‘most hated’ list.
